Cholesterol screening for US children could save lives

HUNDREDS of premature deaths from coronary heart disease could be prevented each year in the US if every child had their cholesterol levels checked at age 11.

That’s according to William Neal of West Virginia University in Morgantown, and colleagues, who say that current methods of only testing children if high cholesterol runs in the family misses a third of those who would benefit from treatment. Evidence suggests that treating children with elevated cholesterol reduces their risk of coronary heart disease later in life.

Neal used data from a screening scheme introduced for all state school pupils aged 10 …

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